Sunday Funday link up...

I *think* I linked up properly... for the life of me, couldn't find anywhere the option to either turn off or on a "captcha" so I hope it's off; if not, send me idiot-proof directions on how to fix it! 

This has been a truly wonderful week~ school vacation all week long.  Had a Mommy day in there, cooked for my family for Thanksgiving, and spent lots of time watching Calliou with my little man. (I know~ but I've decided that there are far worse things he could have taken too... I count my blessings.) And I've got my Christmas cards just about finished. Booyah!!! That's always a time sucker... I love doing it, but goodness~ it always takes longer then I imagine it will. :o) 

Oh~ and .....I finished the longest-running UFO ever. Well, for me, at least! 

To those of you checking my blog out from Sarah's page~ welcome... I mostly blog about all of my quilty crafty creations.  There are tons of projects waiting in the wings now that the biggie is out of the way.  Hopefully I can find some time this afternoon to bind off the other UFO that's been taking up space.  And then decide *WHAT* to do next... me thinks it'll be the Grinch Who Stole Christmas wallhangings... Hoffman did a beautiful fabric series~ which, I just *had* to have back in July when it came out. Hehehehehe.... 

Stay tuned for lots of quilty creations!!!

Happy Quilting!!! :o) 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

There are many things to be truly thankful for... too many to list out... but my "Top 10 'Things' I'm Thankful For" are listed below:

10.  The ability to create... be it out of fabric, embroidery floss, thread, yarn, whatever... and for my fabric stash; which is far larger than my husby thinks it is. I'm a good hider!
9.  I have a job; a good job. And one with benefits. And so does my husby. We're very blessed.
8.  My students; even if it's like herding cats at times... they're really a great group of kids.
7.  The ladies I work with at school (on my team) on a daily basis are some terrifically devoted & caring people; they make coming to work worth it.
6.  All my family's basic needs are met & we live comfortably & safely.
5.  Social media~ it's a way for me to stay connected with those friends & family who are spread out around the country who I'm unable to see on a regular basis.
4.  Play time with my son... which includes an element of parental paparazzi... always a guaranteed fun time.
3.  My health; it's not a guarantee... it's something I protect & guard...
2.  There are those who risk their lives so that I may live peacefully; a simple "thank you" to our troops & their families for their sacrifice just barely covers my gratitude.
1.  I'm surrounded by family & friends whom I love & who love me in return for just my being me.

Wherever Thanksgiving finds you... I hope you're able to take a moment to reflect on what's most meaningful to you.  Enjoy your day with your loved ones...

Happy Quilting!!
..eerrrr... no quilting here, today... just cooking... :o)

... Now What?!

This UFO is a UFO no more... it's complete & serving it's purpose.  It's a true labor of love~ constructed on at least 3 different sewing machines in three different states.  My first block was made in the Summer of 1998 when I was home from college... and subsequent blocks were made at my Aunt's house out of her fabric stash when I had a long weekend or holiday~ and it was here that I was converted to being a Bernina fan. I finished the top in the Summer of 2002 after completing my Master of Arts in Teaching degree.  It had been folded & put in a box ever since... it's been in that box from Maine to Florida & stored in 7 different places I've called "home" in those 2 states.  History, I tell you!

Home, at last!!! 

Each of the blocks has a story... and someday (when my son isn't crawling in my lap!) I will get around to telling them. Truthfully speaking~ these blocks were what I thumb-tacked to my dorm room wall in college instead of stupid posters.  I know there's a picture of it *somewhere* and I'll have to go dig it up & scan it in. (Although, if my memory is correct, my ex is in the photo!!) 

Can't wait to sleep under this quilt tonight~ wonder if it'll help the nightmares I've been having lately go away... that would be very nice! 

Happy Quilting!!! :o)

Forced Sabbatical... *ugh*

I haven't sewn-- or done anything particularly crafty-- since early August. It's now late November & Christmas is all of 33 days away.  I have a lot of sewing to catch up on!  When life gets busy, it's amazing how quickly time flies.  It's not that I've had creative block~ because I certainly haven't.  I suffer from a common affliction: not-enough-hours-in-the-day-to-get-it-all-done! 

But... I have a week off here for Thanksgiving... yesterday was a Mommy pamper day; salon haircut & bargin shopping for some new clothes.  And now, here, on the 2nd day of my vacation... I've gotten into my burning projects.  The two quilts have been back from the long-arm quilter for quite a while & have been neglected; just sitting on top of my sewing table.  They're first up on deck~ not only because they're both *huge* projects... but because they're UFO's that are So.Close. to being finished.  All that's left to do on them is trim them up & attach the binding.  That's it~ sounds easy, eh?! Well, for one of the two, it's not too bad...

There is no way I could ever quilt anything like this w/out a long-arm machine.
Sheila did amazing work with hers... this is the back...  

This is the top corner of the quilt... the quilting blends into the design so perfectly...
You don't even know that it's there unless you look closely...

Yours truly trimming off the excess backing & batting...
getting ready to start the process of binding... 

And... with this particular quilt... the progress stops.  You see, I forgot that I used the binding I had set aside for this for this quilt on another project that I wanted to get finished. *oops*  So, I'm without binding for this one!  However, my current "to-do" list comes in pairs... so it's off to the super king sized quilt to trim and then begin the "small" undertaking that is managing it on my sewing machine.  It'll take 4-5 packages of 3yd. segments of binding to finish this one off.  My plan is to only sew one segment at a time; that way, hopefully nothing slips!!! I'm not quite talented (or neurotic!) enough to bind my quilts by hand.  Forget that~ if I did that, this quilt would *never* make it out of the UFO pile... 

For this quilt, because the top is so intricate, Sheila did an all-over pattern... this goes from edge to edge... 

This is a portion of the top of the super-king... otherwise known as UFO #1... 

Yours truly again doing trimming battle with the super-king... and yes, I pulled my hair up from earlier; it was hanging in my face... not a fan of that! 

And there we have it... both quilts are trimmed up... one folded for binding another day... and another ready to be finished.  Once it's done, it's going on my bed; hope it's not too flowery for the husby. (Oh well~ shucks, darn!) With any luck, my next posting will be a photo of it finished & on my bed.... but, if I'm on the computer, that won't happen!!! 

Back to attaching binding & figuring out how to grapple with the sheer magnitude of this last bit to the project!!! 

Happy Quilting!!! 

>>rewind<< ...please?!

I haven't done *any* sewing since my last post... not even a drop of knitting either.  I'd like to rewind time so I can go back & work on my sewing.  Too bad life doesn't work that way.  School (work) is just so busy that by the time I get home from the gym in the afternoon, make dinner, spend time with my family... I'm totally burnt out & haven't the energy to sit at my machine & create.  That's really sad!

However, I *did* get my quilts back from the Long-Arm quilter... they are simply amazing.  She does beautiful work.  I'll need to get off my duff & get the bindings on them so that they can be officially crossed off the UFO list.  One is going on my bed... I'm super excited that my very first quilt (UFO #1) is completed.  So cool.  Will be sure to post pictures once it goes to it's place of honor. :o)

In the meantime... interim grades are due by the early part of this week... so no sewing while the little guy is napping. (serious bummer!) I'll be back & forth between my grading stack & the computer. Maybe I'll be able to sneak in some sewing tonight.

In the meantime, Happy Quilting/Sewing to those of you with time!!! :o)